Barter grudgingly walked to Laura's room. For some familiar reason, Laura was expecting to be let out of that room sooner or later, that very day. When she wanted to visit Mr. Ban at the hospital, Barter bluntly refused, but now there was nothing he could do. Mr. Ban had returned. The same Mr. Ban that she hated, the very man that she saw as her jailer, had now become her savior. Laura was pacing the room when she heard the locks on the door start to jangle. She quickly stepped towards the door with her eyes wide in anticipation as the door opened to reveal Barter's angry face. ''Come out. Boss is asking for you!'' Barter said to Laura Ban with hate.Laura was as happy as a child that had been offered chocolate, but she dared not express her happiness in front of Barter. She was not going to spite him like that. Laura stepped out of the room and waited for Barter to shut the door, before she walked behind him, as he led her to Mr. Ban's room. It didn't take long for Laura to
''If not that I had saved a lot of money, by now I would have been recklessly poor,'' Greg Chase said to Don Black. ''I thought you sent someone to Boss Shen?'' Don Black replied, asking Greg. Greg laughed with sarcasm and shook his head. ''Need I tell you what went down?'' He asked Don Black. ''What?'' Don Black asked, wide-eyed. ''In fact, a terminator is behind this because Boss Shen could not figure it out,'' Greg Chase replied. Don black glared at Greg. ''Well, Boss Shen agreed to liaise with us to find out who this culprit is. He asked his Marcus guy, so I heard, and that one couldn't go far. Whoever the dropper was must have out smarted him and misplaced him in thin air. He's a major air head,'' Greg explained. ''Either that, or there is a terminator out there, like I said. We can't fathom him,'' Greg Chase added. Both men hissed. Tired as hell. What was Greg Chase even talking about? Why such harsh and sarcastic words against your own faction? ''Greg, maybe t
Mr. Ban had become stronger after about a week and had returned to his usual spot in the study, observing his sales charts and plotting the next moves that he would make, big or small. He could not thank Charles Ban enough for saving his business, if not, what would he have done?He would have become a pauper, and that would be thanks to Greg Chase. ''Charles, I cannot continue to allow you to use my wife to run these sales. It is dangerous,'' Mr. Ban complained. Laura was set to go out to make a drop as usual, and Mr. Ban was skeptical. 'You don't have anything to worry about. Laura does not have to see anyone directly. What she does is she drops the product at its usual location and leaves. We have someone around there that oversees the area to make sure that nobody picks up the product except the person purchasing it. The person does not see Laura at all. The person does not even see the other comrade that supervises the area. It is majorly a blind deal,'' Charles Ban explained
When Greg Chase was in jail, he had an arch-enemy called Shepherd. Shepherd was one of the inmates that were fascinated by Greg's demeanor and tried to be friends with Greg, but Greg rejected his friendship outrightly. Nobody could believe it that day, not even the prison warders.Shepherd was the president of the prison. There was hardly anybody that didn't reverence Shepherd. There was nobody that didn't reverence and respect Shepherd, apart from Greg Chase, inmate 99651. Greg was sitting alone as usual in the cafeteria when Shepherd sent his subordinates to call Greg over to his table for a friendly chat.''Make sure you don't bully him,'' Shepherd warned his boys because he knew how nasty they could get.''Sure boss!'' One of the boys had said, and then he walked over to Greg Chase's table with three other boys from his gang. They were men actually, but they behaved like boys as they lacked maturity and depended on bullying other inmates as if their lives depended on it. ''
''Laura, why did you kill that lady, Barter's sister? Didn't you know that she was his sister?'' Mr. Ban asked.Laura was silent, looking at her feet.''Laura, I am talking to you. You need to speak up. I hope you know that it is because of me you are still alive. You are smart, so I am sure you know that for a fact,'' Mr. Ban asked.Laura was still silent, but after a while, she nodded.''Good, so tell me what made you kill that lady. Because, as much as I have to protect you as your husband, I know that Barter hates you, and I cannot stand to look at the sorrow in his eyes,'' Mr. Ban added.Laura trembled.Her lips quivered, and her fingers twitched.''She...'' Laura started to speak slowly.''She was going to take me back to Barter after I ran away, and I didn't want her to do so,'' Laura managed to respond.''She was going to send you back. How did you know her in the first place? Where did you guys meet? Had she ever come here before when you tried to escape?'' Mr. Ban asked.Lau
Mr. Ban raised his eyes to look at Laura. ''Don't talk to me like that again,'' he said to her in a coarse voice. Laura pursed her lips and looked away. It was easy for him to be judgemental of her when he had a ton of hideous things that he had done in the past. The only thing that made Laura feel any guilt concerning what she had done was because it was Barter's sister that was involved, if not, she was of the opinion that Mr. Ban didn't have the right to interrogate her judgementally like this. ''Sorry!'' Laura replied abruptly and looked away. Mr. Ban had heard enough, so he dismissed her. Laura left and Brater and Charles Ban came back in to join Mr. Ban. Three days later. It was time for another drop, and Laura was getting ready to do her usual delivery. ''Laura!'' Mr. Ban called when he saw her getting dressed in special clothes than what she usually wore. Laura spun around to look at Mr. Ban. ''Where are you going? Is today drop day?'' Mr. Ban asked. Laura no
Greg nodded, happy to see that Scissors was undoubtedly equal to the task.''Very well. Take this address. There will be a drop-off and pick-up here in the next two hours, I want you to try and get hold of the person that would make the drop-off. Now, this is where it gets tricky. The dropper and the picker do not meet. The dropper loads up the product some minutes or so before the picker comes to take the product. I want you to look for a way around this. I need to know who the dropper is, okay?'' Greg Chase said to Scissors. Scissors listened to Greg Chase attentively, and then he nodded. ''Copy that, Mr. Chase!'' He said to Greg, looking assured that he would deliver his work seamlessly. ''Will you handle this properly for me? please? I must not fail at this or else, I would lose everything,'' Greg told Scissors. There was nothing to hide. Looking at Greg Chase closely, Scissors could see the sincerity in the man's eyes, and he knew how much importance Greg Chase attached to t
Scissors followed Laura's car. The black Sedan drove fast as if the vehicle's driver was running from someone. It was usual practice for Laura not to drive straight home after she made every drop. That was what Charles Ban had instructed her to do at all times. Wherever she went after the drop, Laura never drove in the direction of Mr. Ban's house at all. This time, for some reason, Laura drove to the outskirts of town, and parked in front of the house she used to live in when she escaped. Alina's former house. She remained in her car for a while, looking at the abandoned house for a long time. Memories flashed through Laura's mind. That used to be her haven. She remembered all the time she spent in that house alone, she remembered when she was in her own company alone. Laura Ban recalled it all, and the nostalgic feeling that she felt, made tears roll down her cheeks. Laura dared to go inside the house, and so she was about to remove the glasses that were on her face when s
Greg Chase didn't know if he should laugh or cry. He stared at The Man until he was sure that The Man was serious about what he said, then he heaved a tired sigh. ''You cannot afford to do this to me. I mean...you sparingly ruined my life,'' Greg Chase complained, his eyes on The Man the entire time. ''You are the watcher, Mr. Chase. You shame me. The watcher ought to be more powerful than you are, but you are too full of yourself, so you cannot reach your full potential,'' The Man told Greg Chase. ''How powerful can I get?'' Greg Chase asked. ''Did you hear about the natural disaster that happened in the city Aklans weeks ago?'' The Man asked Greg Chase. Greg Chase nodded.''Yes, that was caused by a watcher like you. He was upset about something, and his intense anger caused a stir and an earthquake occurred. Though the government officials claim it to be solely a natural occurrence, it is a lie, and they know it...'' The Man told Greg Chase. Greg Chase was not sure he heard
Greg Chase almost dropped dead when he heard everything. ''If you have anything to tell me, or there is an emergency, I bet you now know how to summon me. It took you two years to learn how to summon me, Greg Chase. Now, you know what pride can do to you. It can ruin you,'' The Man said as he gradually disappeared into space. Greg Chase stared in arrant shock.All this...it had to be a joke.''Boss...at least...you aware that you returned my colleagues back to our company, right?'' Scissors asked Greg Chase after The Man left. Greg Chase looked at Scissors casually and nodded. ''I have told you not to call me boss anymore,'' Greg Chase said.Scissors smiled. ''The boss is really back to himself. Boss, you have not told me that in the past two years, and I have only called you boss throughout,'' Scissors said, smiling. Greg Chase wished it could stop.Someone needed to come and tell him that all this was a dream.Ge desperately needed to hear that he had been pranked heavily. So
''Master!'' Greg Chase muttered. Then he blinked. The next time that Greg Chase opened his eyes, he was in his living room on earth.He was leisurely watching TV and Scissors walked by casually. Greg Chase looked at Scissors, expecting him to freak out and ask how and where he had been but Scissors acted like every other day. As if nothing happened. Or?Had he been in a trance?''Scissors, what day is it today?''Wednesday,'' Scissors said. ''Where have you been in the last twenty-four hours?'' Greg Chase asked, looking at Scissors, squinting in confusion. It was as if his brain had been formatted. Scissors turned to look at him funny.''Keeping tabs on me now, huh, boss!'' he said, taking orange juice from the fridge and heading back inside the house, to his room. Greg Chase's eyes sparkled in confusion. ''I'm not keeping tabs on you. Fuck you,'' he said under his breath.''I heard you!'' Scissors yelled from afar. Greg Chase nodded with satisfaction. The first thing that
''Boss?'' Scissors called, wondering why Greg Chase was looking at him like that. ''What is growing on your head?'' Greg Chase asked Scissors. Scissors frowned.Was it because he had indicated that something was funny about Greg Chase, that Greg Chase decided to switch up on him?''Boss, are you kidding?'' Scissors asked, flashing a weak smile.Greg Chase shook his head. ''There's a radio on your head,'' Greg Chase suddenly said.''Radio!'' Scissors muttered and raised his hand to touch his head but he did not feel anything, and to Greg's shock, Greg saw Scissors' hand pass through the radio. ''Ah, boss...you are playing the pranks on me. But there is an antenna on your head anyway,'' Scissors said to Greg Chase. Without wasting time, Greg Chase raised his hand to touch his head, and he was not surprised when he could not feel anything, yet he saw Scissors gasp in shock. ''Your hand passed through it,'' Scissors said. ''Same thing that happened to you. There's a radio on your h
''You...I must give it to you as the watcher with the biggest ego ever...'' The Man said to Greg Chase.Greg Chase frowned. ''Are there more watchers? I thought I was the only one,'' he said to The Man as he walked towards Scissors and started to pull him up again, but just like before, an unknown force repelled Greg Chase. The Man laughed his usual mocking laugh, one that made Greg Chase upset by all means. ''Can you please release my friend? What the hell?'' he asked The Man, anger flashing evidently in his eyes.''I am not holding your friend to anything, he will get up when he wants to,'' The Man replied.''And, about your question as to if there are other watchers, of course, there are billions of watchers around the world,'' The Man said to Greg Chase. ''I thought I was the only one. Are they also up to anything as big as mine? Do they try to take down their enemies or they are solely connected to the source of wherever this watcher thing comes from?'' Greg Chase asked. ''T
Greg Chase was beside himself, wondering why Laura had suddenly cut off from him.Yes, she might have been spotted in his house, but from the way he felt, he knew that word had not gotten to Mr. Ban about the fact that she was in his house, so why was she suddenly unavailable? Why was she no longer interested in their plan to overthrow Mr. Ban completely this time?He had his hopes on her, especially now that Don Black had looked in another direction, having found another ''young blood'' to show the ropes of the business and get acquainted with. No matter how many times Greg Chase called Laura Ban, it either did not go through, or she abruptly hung the call up on him.''Urgh, what the fuck is going on?'' Greg Chase asked himself. He felt as if everyone he knew and looked forward to helping him achieve one thing or the other, was turning their back on him. But, under what basis? What did he do, or what did they suddenly realize for them to have such a decision made overnight?''Boss
''What is it?'' Shadow asked, looking very interested in Barter's thoughts. Barter had been looking at him with so much intensity, he had to know what was on Barter's mind while he was looking at him. Barter looked at Shadow closely.If he told Barter what he knew, everything could take another turn for the worst, but he also wanted Laura Ban to face the repercussion of the trouble that she had doled out on others. Shadow stared at Barter, waiting for an answer. ''I was just wondering when you will ever settle down with one woman. You should be married by now, you know...'' Barter suddenly said. Shadow was surprised. ''Are you kidding me right now?'' he asked Barter.Barter shook his head. ''Nope! After you lost your ex-wife, I could understand you staying away from relationships and not wanting to commit to anyone anymore, but it's been nearly ten years since that happened. Don't you think you need someone by you to make you feel better? You know what I mean. Even gangstas nee
Barter was getting frustrated, and desperate. After spending more than two decades with Mr. Ban, he was easily going to throw him, Barter to a corner just because of a loose whore he called his wife? He stared at the door of the room as if he wished that his eyes would bore a hole through. ''Preposterous,'' he muttered as he suddenly turned to leave. In the living room, when Barter stormed in angrily, he saw Shadow. Barter looked at Shadow as if he was seeing a ghost. ''Dude, where the hell have you been for nearly two weeks?'' Barter asked, shocked. Shadow rolled his eyes. ''Did you really expect me to hang around so that I will get discovered by Chase and the rest of them that I am on Ban's side?'' Shadow asked. Barter suddenly realized. There was no way Greg Chase and his cohorts would not have found out about Shadow playing both sides, the tension and pressure were too much, especially after the war. ''You are right, you would have been spotted,'' Barter said.
''We just had a few drinks and nothing more,'' Laura Ban said. By this time, they had arrived at the home of Mr. Ban.Mr. Ban hurried out of the car as if, if he stayed there for one more second, something will happen to him. ''Boss!'' Barter greeted him as soon as he sighted him. He had been waiting rather impatiently for Mr. Ban to return and give him a rundown of what happened at Laura Ban's house. Barter would have been the one to follow Mr. Ban to Laura Ban's family house, but his hideous face did not allow him. ''How did it go, boss?'' Barter asked. Mr. Ban glanced at Barter and rolled his eyes. Barter knew at once that Mr. Ban must have been ridiculed and insulted. The look on the man's face was so intensely upset. Barter spotted Laura Ban behind, hurrying up to meet Mr. Ban, and he obviously hissed, loudly enough so that Laura Ban would hear him. But of course, at the moment, Laura was bothered about something else, so she paid Barter no mind. She hurried towards Mr